Safety device



Aug. 13, 1929. T. H. QPPENHEIM ET AL 1,724, 1

SAFETY DEVICE "Filed Aug. 5, 1927. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 13, 1929. T. HOPPENHEIM ET AL 1,724,612

SAFETY DEVI CE Filed Aug. 5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 START 5T0 P gwumtoq7- EC a o aenkeirn/ Z 1523507252.

Patented Aug. 13, 1929.

UNETEE T THEODORE H. OPPENI-IEIIVI AND BERNARD SELI-IORST, OF COLDWATLER, OHIO, AS-

SIGNORS TO THE NEW IDEA SPREADER (70., OF COLDIVATER, OHIO, ACORPORATION OF OHIO.

SAFETY DEVICE.

Application filed. August 3, 1927. Serial No. 210,363.

This invention is a safety device for use in connection with clutcheswhereby driving mechanisms are controlled. The device is intendedprimarily for use upon corn-husking machines but maybe used in othermachines where there is possibility of injury to persons or damage tomachinery when an operator leaves the machine and forgets to open theclutch so as to stop the driving gearing. The object of the presentinvention is to provide means whereby when "the operator leaves hisplatform the clutch will be opened and the driving machineryconsequently will cease to move, a further object of the invention beingto so arrange the mechanism that the clutch will remain open when theoperator resumes his position upon the platform until the clutch leverhas been positively actuated through manually operable devices. Asecondary object of the invention is to so arrange the mechanism thatthe parts of the invention will be disposed within the lines of themachine without in volving any substantial structural changes therein.Other incidental objects of the invention will appear in the course ofthe following description, and the invention resides in certain novelfeatures which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of a corn-husking machine as isnecessary to an understanding of the invention, the mechanism embodyingthe invention being shown applied to the machine;

Fig. 2 is a detail vertical transverse section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. l is a detail elevation of the front end of the hopper, and

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the clutch controlling lever.

The cornhusking machine is illustrated in a more or less conventionalmanner at 1 and includes a transverse shaft 2 which transmits motionthrough suitable gearing from a main driving pulley to the differentworking parts of the machine, a clutch member 3 being rotatably mountedupon the said shaft and a cooperating clutch member at manually operabledevices for setting the being slidably mounted upon the shaft andconnected with a clutch controlling lever 5 which is fulcrumed upon abracket 6 on the frame of the machine above the clutch. The huskmgmachine also includes a hopper 7 located upon the top of the machine infront of and adjacent the corn-snapping rolls and 1 through which thecorn stalks are fed to said rolls. Mounted upon the hopper 7 is a handlever 8 which extends through a slot 2? in a guide plate 10, projectingfrom the front of the hopper, and has itsfront end upturned toconstitute a handle '11 in front of said guide plate. A link 12 connectsthe said hand lever 8 with the upper end of the clutch lever 5, and itwill be understood that lateral movement of the hand lever will rock theclutch controlling lever so as to open or close the clutch.

The clutch-controlling lever has a pin and slot connection with themovable clutch member 4, as shown at 13 in Fig. 2, and it is extendedbelow the clutch and bent inwardly toward the side of the machine, asshown at 14:. A bracket 15 is provided on the side of the machine frameat the bottom thereof and mounted upon the said bracket is a lockingplate 16 which may conveniently be in the form of a bell crank ortriangular plate, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. When this lockingplate is swung outwardly, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, it will bearagainst the inner side of the lower end of the clutch-controlling leverand rock the same outwardly so that the clutch will be released and willbe held in released position. Pivoted to the inner corner of the lockingplate 16 is the rear end of a push rod 17 which is slidably supported ina bracket 18 secured upon the lower frame bar of the machine and thesaid push bar, it will be noted, is constructed in two sections whichare hingedly connected, as indicated at 19, whereby the rear sectionwill be permitted to conform .to the varying angular position of thelocking'plate as the same moves about its fulcrum. In advance of thebracket 18, a collar 20 is secured upon the push rod and an expansionspring 21 is coiled around the rod and bears at its ends against thesaid collar and the bracket 18 so that it tends constantly to move thepush bar to its forward position and thereby maintain the locking platein its operative position illustrated by the full lines in Fig. 3.Fulcrumed upon the front end o' the machine frame, as upon a bracket 22,is a second bell crank or angle lever 23 which has its lower endpivot-ally connected with the front end of the push bar 17. The upperfront end of this bell crank or angle lever is pivotally attached to thelower end of a pitman 24: which has its upper end pivotally attached tothe operators platform 25, the platform bein hinged to the front end ofthe machine frame and being limited in its downward movement by a chain26 attached at one end to the plat: arm and at its opposite end to themachine frame above the platform. It will be noted at once that theexpansion of the spring 21 tends to hold the platform in the raisedposition shown in full lines in Fig. l, and it will be understood thatthe spring may be arranged in other positions whereby it will act u )1!the platform, although the illustrated position is preferred inasmuch asit has the advantage of compactness and disposes the spring in alocation where it is not apt to be damaged by chance blows. It will alsobe understood that the chain or flexible connection 26 is only one ofmany devices which may be used to limit the downward movement of theplatform,

It is thought the operation of the device will be readily understoodfrom the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings. WVhen the machine is not in operation, the partswill assume the position shown in the drawings, the platform beingraised and the parts con nected therewith being consequently drawn intotheir forward positions so that the clutchlever 14 will be thrown outand the clutch opened. When the operator assumes his position upon theplatform, the platform will, .of course, be swung downwardly to theposition shown in Fig. 1 by dotted lines, and this movement of theplatform will be transmitted through the bell crank 23 and. the push rod17 to the locking plate 16 so that the locking plate will be swunginwardly and V rearwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.3. The locking plate will, therefore, be swung away from p theclutch-controlling lever but the clutch willremain open until the clutchlever has beensrocked through manipulation of the hand lever 8 at whichtime the operator will be upon the platform and in position to controlthe feeding of the corn stalks to the machine. Inasmuch as the handlever 8 is mounted on top of the hopper which is on the roof of themachine, premature closing of the clutch is not apt to occur and theclutch cannot be closed until after the platform has been moved to itslowered position. This feature of the mechanism is important inasmuch ascareless persons sometimes place tools upon the platform and the weightof the same tends'to swing the platform downwardly and results inclosing of the clutch with many devices now in use. With our mechanism,however, the mere lowering of the platform will not close the clutchinasmuch as it simply moves the locking plate away from the clutchcontrolling lever and i is necessary to then manually shift the saidlever in order to close the clutch. lVhen the operator leaves theplatform, the spring 21 at once swings the platform to its inoperativeposition and this movement is transmitted through the intermediateconnections to the locking plate which is at once swung outwardly andshifts the clutch controlling lever to the released position. It will beseen that we have pro vided an exceedingly simple, compact and efficientmechanism which will positively operate to open or release the clutchwhen an oi'ierator leaves the machine so that the machine cannot operateunless the operator is in position.

Having thus described the invention, we claim: v

1. The combination with a clutch-controlling lever, of a verticallymovable element, yieldable means for holding the element normally inraised position, and means independent of the clutch controlling leverand controlled by said yieldable means to hold the lever inclutch-released position when said element is in normal position.

2. The combination with a clutch-controlling lever, of an elementmounted for swinging movement in. a vertical plane, means for yield-ablyholding said element raised, and a lever locking device free of theclutch controlling lever and operatively connected with the said elementwhereby when the element is raised the lever will be held inclutch-released position and when the element is lowered theclutch-controlling lever may be operated to close the clutch.

3. The combination with a clutch-controlling lever, of a movableplat-form, means for yieldably holding the platform in inoperativeposition, means connected. with the platform for locking theclutch-controlling lever in clutch-released position when the platformis in inoperative position, and manually operable means for setting theclutch-controlling lever to close the clutch when the platform is inoperative position.

l. The combination with a clutch-controls ling lever, of a movableplatform, a locking plate mounted adjacent the lower end of theclutch-controlling lever in position to bear against the same, andconnections between said locking plate and the platform whereby when theplatform is in inoperative position the locking plate will be in contactwith the clutch-controlling lever to maintain the same inclutch-released position.

Cil

5. The combination with a clutch-controlling lever, of a movableplatform, a push bar slidably mounted between the platform and thelever, a locking plate fulcrumed adjacent the lower end of the lever tobear against the same and pivotally connected to one end of the pushbar, yieldable means acting on the push bar for holding the platform ininoperative position and operative connections between the opposite endof the push bar and the platform whereby when the platform is ininoperative position the lever will be held in clutcl1-releasedposition.

6. The combination of a clutch-controlling lever, a movable platform, aslidably mounted push bar disposed between the platform and the lever, abell crank lever connected with the front end of the push bar, a pitmanconnecting said lever with the platform, a locking plate connected withthe rear end of the push bar and arranged to bear against the end of theclutch-controlling lever whereby when the platform is in inoperativeposition the lever will be held in clutch-released position, andyieldable means for holding the platform in inoperative position.

7. The combination of a supporting frame, a driven shaft, a clutch onthe shaft, a clutchcontrolling lever fulcrumed on the frame above theclutch and extending across and operatively connected with the clutch,manually operable means above the frame connected with the upper end ofthe clutch-coir trolling lever to set the clutch, a push bar slidablymounted on the frame below the clutch, a locking plate pivotally mountedon the frame and having one end pivoted to the rear end of the push bar,the free end of the plate being arranged to bear against the side of theclutch-controlling lever below the clutch, a platform hingedly mountedon the front end of the frame, yieldable means for holding the platformraised, and connections between the front'end of the push bar and theplatform whereby when the platform is raised the locking plate willbeheld against the clutch-controlling lever and the lever held inclutch-released position and when the platform is lowered the lockingplate will be free of the lever and the manually operable means may beactuated to rock the lever and close the clutch.

In testimony whereof we ailix our signatures.

THEODORE H. OPPENHEIM. [1,. s.] BERNARD SELHORST. [L.s.]

